Rental cap on the cards

THE Spanish government is pushing ahead with plans to limit residential property rental prices, with legislation expected before the summer. Minister Jose Luis Abalos made the announcement in the Congress of Deputies last week, although full details are yet to be confirmed. The caps will apply to parts of towns and cities where average rental is high or has risen sharply due to factors such as the booming holiday rental market. However, before the legislation can be finalised the government will need to have access to the official rental prices statistics, which should be ready at the end of March. Such measures already exist in Germany and France and a spokesman said that this has become an “extraordinary social problem that requires a bold administration to take equally exceptional measures.”